Jail bars
Ice cold between my closed hands
I hated the lack of clean air
But adored the feeling of
A roof over my head
(I knew what hail felt like)
❀
I resented them for
The whip against my back
My skin peeling apart
Over and over and over
But maybe I resented them more
For the way they held out their hand after
The ignorance they feigned
Towards the blood on
That dark dirt floor
❀
Hatred pooled in my palms
Grew across my mouth like a muzzle
Tightened my muscles to the point
Of a barely contained explosion
❀
I despised them for how
They blamed others
Looked down on them
For their inability to walk
When they were the ones
Who cut the tendons of their legs
Tied bricks to their shoulders
❀
They held people’s
Heads under water
Then complained about
The silence
Stabbed knives into flesh
Then rolled their eyes
At the screaming
❀
I loathed them for their
Inconceivable inhumanity
But nothing hurt quite like
Your ability to walk past
And do nothing to stop it
❀❀❀❀❀
If you enjoyed this, here’s another poem about the same topic:
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Compelling and original writing
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Smartystan
Rain didn’t stop Mala. Swaddling for Edgar covered the baby boy’s body and she held her other son’s, Burton, six-year-old hand. The mud, muck, and mire didn’t hinder her from staying on course with her mission. From Pennsylvania, they all trekked to get closer and closer to land that was never promised but simply implied. Each step produced more mud caked around her sneakers. She didn’t care. Her rucksack provided them protein packs to put into plastic bottles and nuts and berries and dried meats to keep their muscles in good health. Water hydrated. She rested. The baby had been asleep the entire time that she had started her journey and her eldest son remained silent throughout the excursion as well.
By Skyler Saunders3 days ago in Chapters
Comments (10)
Well that was deep and dark... I'm not sure what I was expecting but that wasn't it. I'm kind of speechless as to how this is settling with me!! So well written and yet so thought provoking for me... I feel like I've had a veil lifted and I can't unsee what you've pointed out! Great work Poppy!!
I forgot this was about workplace hostility and started thinking, "slavery." Basically the same thing, though...
This hit hard! Very relatable! Loved the lines, “They held people’s Heads under water Then complained about The silence”. A toxic work environment is so stifling. I do hope this was indeed therapeutic!
Sadly, these emotive words vividly portray an all too common scenario 🥺
Heartbreaking. I can feel the pain in this poem.
Yes, they would do all that shit to us and then complain when we break from the weight of it all. Loved your poem!
Oh that last bit cuts, deeply.
Really powerful. I read it as a critique on our society even beyond the workplace.
Beautiful poem! Thinking of hatred as a muzzle and the internal memory of remembering what hail feels like represented that feeling of not being able to do anything because your own neck is stuck out there incredibly well. Great job!
Therapeutic, indeed! I do NOT miss the traditional work environment! Well written, with your as-always marvelous style, Poppy!